Improvement in Service

It is lovely to be able to write an optimistic and up-beat blog about the local Adult Mental Health Service (LPT), and that is exactly what I’m doing. I have been one of the harshest critics of the service provided, in the community and on the acute wards, and my complaints to the Trust eventually covered around 40 pages. So, the treatment we received was disgraceful. I have taken the complaints to the Trust, the CEO Officer and latterly the General Medical Council, and by digging my heels in at every stage I have succesfully encouraged the introduction of some 14 amendments to policy and procedure, and have sat on three committees with the LPT and believe I have been able to influence some improvement.

The first, and main, project, was called Improving the Patient Experience, for which I am on the central CORE committee. In simple terms this programme put carers/service users together with a professional service provider to talk in detail about their experience within the LPT. The professionals were not allowed to challenge the carer, not allowed to problem solve or defend the service. From these conversations we have put together a list of points that the LPT deliver well, and need to develop, and areas where improvement is required… a great deal of improvement in fact.

We had a meeting last week to look at a draft of the new handbook which will be used to train the whole of the staff, around 300 individuals in the Community and Specialist teams, with the Acute Wards to be followed up next spring.

There is a lot of work required to fine tune the document, but we are meeting again this month to sign off the finished thing. I will then be undergoing a training course to train me to deliver the final training to the staff… something I am really looking forward to.

The demands that have come out from the sessions are wide ranging and when implemented will make a significant difference to the care given to both service user and carer, so this will have been a really worthwhile experience, not only will it bring about a better service, but it has given me so much confidence and belief in myself, and raised my self-esteem.

It has also been encouraging to work with a group of senior managers and service providers in the LPT and see the determination to improve things, and the commitment with which the staff are engaging with the process.

It bodes well.

The other projects I have been involved involve assessing the merits of staff achievements when nominated for staff awards, and a review panel considering how they can improve the service and standard of response to complaints, I feel that both of these projects will add to an overall improvement within the service, and also give me a better insight and more confidence about how the LPT are looking to improve, which I can share with colleagues with the support groups I volunteer with.

And thinking of volunteer groups, I have been somewhat down about the way the group I represent was going, it is a bit old school, and not really very dynamic, but I am now involved in some other projects which fill me with excitement…

I attend the LINk Mental Health Group, which is currently flourishing and making real progress.

A good friend of mine is a Samaritan, and they are looking to set up a practical carer support, which I am talking to them about, and sharing my experiences with them.

The final one is a fantastic new project, called Labelled for young carers, which I have written about before, which was established by some friends, young carers and service users, to support young carers, who have so little support from any other quarter. I am getting more involved in the activities of this group and look forward ot blogging about some real successes in the coming weeks and months.

So, a terrific set of initiatives really taking off in this area, real practical support for young carers, who can more easily relate to people off their own age, practical support for all carers, and a real improvement in the service offered by the LPT itself. After all, if they get their service to be perfect, and inclusive of the patient and their carers, everyone’s life becomes so much easier, which is something we all have to aim at.

So, if any of these sort of initiatives are happening in your areas, please try to get engaged, the results will make it so worthwhile…

It is so good to be able to say something so positive!!